‘Ouija’ Board Points to NO for Universal

In 2008, Universal made a deal with Hasbro to develop movies based on plastic and particle board. Now, three years later, they’ve dropped Clue, and they’re also more interested in paying Hasbro a $5m penalty than in actually making the Ouija Board Movie.

According to Vulture, the project – which was being produced by Michael Bay and directed by McG (a hell of a pair if there ever were one) – is now in turnaround. Bay and McG are now free to shop it around to anyone that wants to take it.

This might be just another cautious step in a trend where studios are wising up to what audiences are getting tired of, but it also represents further proof that 90s style filmmaking is dead as a doornail. McG pitched the project as a large-scale adventure ala Jumanji, which sounds like a strong idea, but apparently Universal wasn’t keen on the concept for the price. It’s a signal that that kind of family adventure is done, while blockbusters are still trying to find a type of adventure that does work. Johnny Depp acting drunk seems to work, but apparently not when he’s playing a Native American sidekick. Meanwhile, the only company who’s discovered the formula for consistently bringing in large numbers of adults and children is Pixar. Maybe they should get their busy hands on this one, too.

A veteran of writing about movies for nearly a decade, Scott Beggs has been the Managing Editor of Film School Rejects since 2009. Despite speculation, he is not actually Walter Mathau's grandson. See? He can't even spell his name right.

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